Here we are... again. I wait for Mistress and Ari to get out of the boat first. Magic Jail Island. First stop on our Morrie Hunt. It would save time... but hopefully she's not already locked up in here. Now that she's apparently resorted to a life of crime, not knowing how society works outside her swamp, it's a possibility. Ari's clan might have found a Templar, or that Sergeant Kylon guy, and filed a complaint about a sneaky-witch-thief stealing their books.

It's a quick walk up the path – this time there's actual guards outside, not that they react to us. That's a good sign; no insurrection today, fellas?

The doors pull open, and a particularly important-looking Templar salutes. "Welcome to Ferelden's Circle of Magi" he announces. Oh, and he's trying to sound important too. It's only Mistress... what, you've never met a Warden who saved the world before? Relax, new buddy. We're all friends here.

Buddy glances down at me. "Please, keep your hound under control." Right... you just made an enemy for life, you fuck! "Some of the apprentices are easily startled." Oh, they will be. "And I see you have a Dalish Elf with you?" Great, he's also racist. Gonna piss in your wardrobe, Buddy.

"Is that a problem?" Ari glowers.

"Not at all" Mistress interjects. "Ariane is my consultant, so I expect her to be treated as I would be."

"As you say" Buddy shrugs. Shut up, you prat. "The Circle is glad to have you as a guest. As you can see, things are much changed from when you were last here." Yeah, there's no fleshy goop caked on the walls.

"Thank you" Mistress offers, studying his armour. "We wish to visit the library, Knight-Captain."

"You can start with the index section" he answers. "You and your party may roam the first floor without an escort. Good day." What an idiot... it's called The Codex, not index.

We set off, into the corridors. "I see why Keeper Solan did not want me to come here" Ari mutters to herself. "So tempting to overturn the tight order, of their little world." You said it, sister. So many armoured boots to piss in, so little time.

Mistress marches down the hall, but something makes me stop. I stride into a room full of bunk-beds, and stop at the first chest. Do... do I smell Mabari Crunch?! Mistress, we need to loot the room! Right now!

"... Max, what are you doing?" I hear Mistress grumble, as she follows me in. "We are not going to ransack the Tower."

You had no problem doing it during the Blight, to find Morrie's book or whatever. Hang on... if we find Ari's book, is she gonna get all depressed and then ask us to kill her mum? That seems to be how this goes.

Still grumbling, Mistress gets the chest open. "Mabari crunch... Max, really?"

Hey, I'm surprised to find some inside here too! This must be a sign from Dane that our goal is a worthy one. Unless it's gone stale.

She quickly stands up, as some rookie Mages enter. We move back behind the nearest bunk, and they thankfully don't notice us. "What about you? Do you know the stories about the Hero of Ferelden?" Mistress further pulls back into the corner. Oh, relax. It's not gonna get awkward or anything. "They say she once took on a lady pirate and three greased nugs... between the sheets!" Okay no, that was awkward. They start giggling, as Mistress lets out a low noise – not sure what kind, but I do notice it. Once they round the corner, we slink back to the doorway. Leaning against it, Ari gives us a look. Amused, or maybe bemused. I never understood the difference. Is it possible to be c-mused?

"Oghren, I'm going to murder you" Mistress mutters as she marches back into the corridor.

Apprentices! That's the word for rookie Mages. That would have bugged me all day! Happy to have that confuddlement dealt with, I glance over at Ari as we walk. Who's looking shifty all over of a sudden. What are you up to...? "I was not!" she responds, not meeting my gaze. What, precisely, were you not? "Oh, fine" she shrugs. "You have to admit, it's tempting. All these Mages, so complacent. Thinking they're important..." I indeed concur, but that Captain guy is right there... buggered if I know how he got ahead of us, but that's him. Standing right next to... wait, what the fuck? I nudge Mistress.

"I know. I see him too" she answers, confusedly. We make our way across the empty hall.

"Hello, doggy!" Shoe greets us. Mistress, look! He remembers me!

"Sandal? What, ah, what are you doing here?" Mistress asks. Enchantment, duh. It is the Mage tower.

"Enchantment" Jinx! Good to see you again, buddy! "Enchantment!" he smiles in agreement.

"Yes. Enchantment..." Captain Guy wearily echoes. That draws Mistress' attention to him.

"Do... do his parents know he's here?" she asks. Fair question. Last time we saw him, he'd apparently ran up Fort Drakon during the Archdemon's attack by himself.

"Bodahn allowed him to stay, and show his talents to the Tranquil, while attending to business matters in Redcliffe" Captain explains.

Seems unlikely to me – the Kaboom dwarves said Bodahn had moved to Kirkwall for business – but whatever. It lets us get a Shoe cameo. I guess this is during one of the time-skips.

Mistress decides to look through his bag. I knew you weren't happy with the rune guy Madame Goat hired for us. Leaving her to it, I wander over to Ari. Who's staring suspiciously at a Mage down the hallway that's re-shelving books.

I plop down next to her, which makes her glance down. "Good timing, hound." Max. "See that Mage? Think you could sneak up on him?"

I take a quick study of him. Yeah, probably. He's distracted with his book cart.

Ari smirks. "How high do you think he'd toss those books, if he turned around and saw you looming over him?"

Over him? … I'd have to get up onto the bookshelves, somehow. Pretty sure he'd notice me clawing up the shelves. Also, I'm not a cat. I keep my feet on the ground. Wait, aren't we here to get their help finding your book? How does pranking make them want to help?

"Lighten up, would you. They could use some surprises, this place is like a tomb."

It'll be my tomb, if I fall and crack my head. And then Mistress would cut yours off... unless you wanna lift me up there. That could work.

"Warden, your dog is lecturing me" Ari suddenly complains. Oh, hey Mistress. We weren't planning any stunts.

Shooting me a quick frown, Mistress motions us onward. "There should be an index, somewhere.

You mean a codex. We wander into the next room, where some bookstands are in the middle.

"This looks like it" Mistress notes, reading the whatever-dex. "Raising Nugs: a how-to guide. Maybe not."

Definitely not! No bogles, thank you. This could take a while. I wander back out, to watch Bookcart Mage. Find a low shelf, and his moment of weakness. Then we'll see what's what. As I lurk, a couple of mages pass by. "Is that a pure-bred Mabari?" I hear one whisper. "I wish we could have pets."

"Remember the dragonling disaster?" Oi, Idiot #2! Are you comparing me to a damn fire-monster? "They're still scraping bits of Ivan off the ceiling."Fuck Ivan, he probably deserved it.

"No, I mean proper pets! Dogs, cats, owls" Wait, what?

"What kind of Mage keeps an owl as a pet?" Yeah, listen to Idiot #2. He's clearly the smart one here. Owls are crap. And didn't Scruffy say there used to be a cat here, until it went all demony and mauled a Templar? Baron Wiggles or some stupid shit?

Hearing her footsteps, I turn around and wait for Mistress.

"Found something" she nods. "A catalogue of Elven relics. Mysterious Artifacts section."

Did they really call it that? Mysterious Artifacts... gee, that'd really stop idiot novices from wanting to read it before they're ready! No wonder Ivan got himself splattered all up the walls.

Mistress soon finds the book, and pulls a chair up to the nearest seat. "Oh. Of course it's written in Dalish." She stands back up. "Ariane?"

Sliding in, Ari takes a look. "Ancient Dalish... I recognise this character! It's part of 'Eluvian', I think."

Okay, so we found 'Vian'. What now, Ari? "Perhaps another book here can help us translate this."

Mistress nods, and thumbs her chin. "I saw a tome listed, back there. History section... wherever that is?"

A passing Mage, let's call her Idiot #3, glances over at us. "History? Back that way, opposite the entrance" she gestures. Cheers, Idiot.

Soon enough, we're back at a reading table with the two books. Mistress and Ari are slowly comparing words, but it sounds like they're getting somewhere. Hang on, who's this idiot? The angry guy keeps marching up, even after I bark at him. "Ugh! Who let a dog in here?" I'm a Hero of Ferelden, you little shit. I go where I will.

Ignoring me, he stands over Ari and Mistress. "What are you doing? Be careful!"

Ignoring him in kind, Mistress slowly turns a page. "I am careful." Yeah! Aldous trained her how to safely read old books. Now piss off!

"Do you mind?" Ari mutters. "This would be easier to translate without you in our light."

"I do mind! I can't stand by while you mishandle innocent tomes!" Then go sit down... over there. "You're bending it too much! The binding will get brittle, and the pages will fall out. Just thinking about it is making me dizzy."

… Aw crap. He's a fucking nerd.

Mistress stands up, and shoots him a Look that makes him flinch. "Oh... you look like you could squash me. Like a bug." Brother, we could all stomp you into the dirt. "But still!"

"Do you know this book, then?" Mistress asks.

"I've used it, can't say I memorised anything" Nerd warily responds. Looking down, he pauses. "The Eluvian chapter, huh? Nobody's ever found one, you know." Didn't ask for your life story, Nerd. Also, you liar; if you can recognise it upside-down, then you did memorise it!

"You know what it is?" Ari questions, getting out of the chair.

"Old Dalish for looking glass, or mirror."

Why would Morrie need a mirror? Mistress already gave her that fancy one from Orzammar.

Nodding, Mistress steeples her hands. "Go on."

"Well, they weren't just normal mirrors. When the Imperium ransacked Arlathan, the Magisters tried unlocking their power. The best they could manage using them to communicate over long distances."

"Hmm... why would Morrigan need one, then" Mistress muses.

Maybe she wants to order a food delivery to wherever she's hiding.

"A friend of yours? Maybe she needed to talk to someone" Nerd tosses his head back and snorts at his own joke. Shut up.

Squinting in thought, Ari ignores him and turns to us. "Some time back, we encountered another Clan. Two of their hunters apparently found a strange mirror. One died from sickness, and they never found the other, before heading north to flee the Blight and their sorrow."

"So these mirrors are dangerous" Mistress ponders.

"I've never heard of eluvians making people ill!" Nerd interrupts, the rude prick. "But what became of the mirror?!"

"Shattered. Destroyed" Ari tells him.

"What? Why?" She just fucking told you why! It poisoned and disappeared people!

"To protect others." Duh.

"But a fragment could still be used, to find more! No, don't get ahead of yourself, Finn." And he's talking to himself. I hate people who do that. "We have to find Hadley! He has the key!"

I step in between him and Mistress. We? Who the fuck said anything about you coming with us? And the key for what, exactly?

Nerd's already taken off towards the door, as Ari and Mistress stare at each other.

"I guess we should follow him?" Ari motions.

Shrugging, Mistress closes the books. Looking around, she points at the book cart abandoned in one corner. I gues Bookcart Mage is taking a break. "Let's just leave these in that, in case we need to come back for them."

A/N: It's already canon Dog prefers Ariane over Finn, so I may as well have fun with it.

Thanks for reading, and Melysande for her thoughts.